


Apartment 99, Brooklyn Street

by Kufikiria



Series: Any Time, Any Place [6]
Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, F/M, Friendship, Kinda, Multichapters Fic, New Girl au, One Shot Collection, Romance, Slow Burn, might have some Dianetti in the background
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-02-28 18:49:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13277709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kufikiria/pseuds/Kufikiria
Summary: A collection of drabbles and one-shots about the Brooklyn Nine-Nine characters (mostly Peraltiago-centered, though) all set in a same 'New Girl' alternate universe.





	1. The New Girl

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea for awhile now, because I love both series so much, but I didn't feel like writing a whole, true fanfic about it so I thought that maybe turning it into a series of OS/drabbles would be easier and could work.
> 
> I already have three of them written (even though they need to be re-read and re-written) so I thought I could post the first one now. I'm not writing them chronologically though, but I'll take care of that later. I don't think it's much of a problem anyway.
> 
> So yeah, I hope you'll enjoy this, and thank you for reading me :)

“So, tell us. How did you actually learn about our search for a new roommate?”

Amy is sitting straight in an armchair, a file neatly laid on her lap under her crossed hands. Three men are facing her on a sofa; watching her intently as they are interrogating her, waiting for her to answer.

“Well,” she starts, and sits even straighter as she speaks to appear more confident, looking at the one who asked her the question right in the eye. “I saw an ad for it at my new precinct,” she explains.

Then offers the men a polite smile, while she tries to read their expression as they quickly process the news – did she give a good enough answer? Should have she detailed it more?

Even though there’s not much more to say. She was just walking out when she saw it on a board:

_ ‘SEARCH ROOMMATE – URGENT.’ _

And, as she was in search of apartment too, she took her chance.

Here she is, now.

For a split second, the one man she’s been talking to from the beginning – Jake Peralta, he presented himself not so long ago, when she first entered the place to start their interview – turns his head in the direction of another of the three friends – Terry Jeffords is his name, she already knew it, having met him earlier at said precinct; indeed, he’s her Sergeant –, then back to her. He is wearing a puzzled look on his face, and his brows are now furrowed. She understands something’s off, then.

She sensed that already, when they opened the door to her and met her gaze for the very first time.

“And have you read that ad?” Jake asks another question, putting an end to the awkward silence that gained over the room, and this time it’s she who frowns.

_ Who does he think she is? _

“Of course I have!” she exclaims, perplexed. Who wouldn’t do that?! “Several times, even,” she goes on.

She wanted to be sure this place would actually be fitting for her – as somewhere to live permanently.

She would  _ never _ take such a thing so lightly as not to even read the ad at least  _ once _ .

“So…” her interlocutor trails off, insistent. “You know we’re looking for a  _ guy _ , then, right?”

She doesn’t, no. And she’s quite shocked that would be such a criteria in their search, to be honest.

But she doesn’t have time to say so, nor to reply with anything else, to tell him that  _ no _ , that (stupid, if you ask her opinion) rule wasn’t stated in the ad she read (and she would have remembered if it did – would have  _ cringed _ reading that, for sure) because Terry suddenly intervenes in the conversation with a cough. He seems very uncomfortable but, when his friend questions him quietly, he confesses.

“Terry must have forgotten to add that detail when he wrote the ad…” he shares his mistake with an apologetic smile as he struggles looking at both her or Jake, waiting for any reaction –

From her part, or the man at his right side.

Once again, Jake is the first one to react. He doesn’t seem mad about this whole misunderstanding or anything – simply sorry while he stands up to face the woman in front of him.

He offers her his hand to shake, then speaks.

“Well,” he begins, “I’m sorry we wasted your time, but it’s quite obvious now that you’re not fitting…”

“Wait, you can’t actually be serious?!” Amy snaps back, surprised, and not moving an inch from her seat despite the implied invitation to do so from that Peralta guy. “You’re not gonna interview me just because I’m a  _ woman _ ? That’s unfair!” she complains.

She tries to seek help in the other two men behind, but none of them seem ready to back her up, face down at the floor in slight shame. Upset, she rolls her eyes, then puts them back onto Jake, daring.

“Look at us,” he doesn’t lose it, though, and points at himself and his roommate. “I’m always late on my laundry and I’m a bartender, which means I come back home  _ late _ at night, and I’m not good at being discreet when I do so. Charles here, we made a jar for him where he has to put money every time he says some weird, disgusting sentence only  _ he _ doesn’t see the innuendo in – it’s only the beginning of the month, and look at how full it is already. And Terry… well, you already met Terry. You really think you’re gonna stand living  _ every day _ with three guys like us?! We like our comfort.”

The woman doesn’t seem impressed a bit by his little speech.

“I’ll have you know I grew up with seven brothers,” she calmly retorts. “Something you’d have known if you’d have let me introduce myself and not just categorized me as ‘not fitting’ because I’m not a man. So yeah, I think I can manage that – I’ve seen, and lived with, way  _ worse _ than this. But seriously, you can’t just throw me away like that. I’m a good candidate – I’m clean, and not noisy, and I’m organised… I  _ know _ I wouldn’t be a bad roommate if you’d give me a chance to prove that to you.”

Jake has to admit, contrary to her, he’s quite impressed by her insistence, and her arguments. That’s why he decides to sit back down after a few moments spent in silence, an amused smile across his lips. She got him curious too – she seems to  _ really _ want this place, when their apartment isn’t the only one in Brooklyn. Not the best either. Technically, she could easily find another one.

So, logically, he asks her, “Why this place in particular?”

The woman is startled by the question at first, but soon enumerates its qualities, ready for this question (she prepared for it, after all), “It’s well-situated, big while not too expensive, and I can walk to work from here.”

She takes a pause then, like she’s hesitant about sharing what she’s about to say next, but she finally confesses – after all, if she’s going to live with these guys, better tell them the whole truth right away, so that they know who they have to deal with and not simply discover it after some time. “Plus I’m tired of staying at my friend’s right now. To be honest, I wasn’t planning to move to New York, so I didn’t look for apartments before arriving. It just happened, after my now ex-boyfriend told his ex-girlfriend he was still in love with her and proposed to her right in front of me. After that, I just wanted to be as far away from him as I could, so I finally said yes to being transferred here in a new precinct when I thought about refusing the offer before.”

“Wow, that sucks,” Peralta eventually lets out after some long, awkward seconds.

“Jake also knows about being dumped,” Charles, the only one who hasn’t said a word from the start talks for the first time in an attempt to be reassuring – all he gains though, is a glare from his friend, who doesn’t seem happy with him sharing his past with a stranger, and a puzzled look towards him from Amy, who doesn’t really understand why he would share this fact with her – she knows she’s not the first person, and surely not the last, to have experienced a breakup. “His ex-girlfriend left him for another during his birthday party last year,” he goes on with his explanations nonetheless.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” the woman detective doesn’t really know what she’s supposed to reply, turning to the concerned man and offering him an empathic smile. He barely answers it, though, seemingly lost in his thoughts of that  _ jerk of Eddie Fung _ . “He didn’t really dump me, though,” she clarifies her statement. “ _ I  _ did. After she said ‘no’ and he thought we could pretend nothing happened there.”

“What a jerk,” Jake interjects again, but Amy doesn’t really know if he’s speaking about her ex-boyfriend, or the guy with whom his ex-girlfriend apparently left his birthday party. She doesn’t dare asking. “Anyways,” he seems to regain some composure soon enough, though, and changes topics, “Can I talk to you guys in private?”

They both nod, and all three of them leave the living-room, locking themselves in the bathroom.

“So,” the brunette starts once alone and out of earshot. “I think we can all agree that…”

“She’s the one!” both Terry and Charles reply in a same, convinced voice.

“What?!” their friend sounds rather startled by this unanime answer – which is absolutely not what he was expecting in the first place. “No! No, it’s not,” he corrects. “I thought we agreed we only wanted a guy to stay with us? So that we wouldn’t be bothered here?”

“Yeah, about that…” Terry seems nervous again. “Terry lied earlier. He didn’t forget about the ‘guy only’ policy on the ad. He didn’t put it because he finds it stupid. Amy’s right about it – that’s unfair. Plus of all the people who care here today, she really does seem like the more fitting.”

“What?!” the bartender repeats, incredulous, eyes wide open in confusion. “Charles, tell him he’s gone insane! We have a good thing going here, right? I agree the other guys weren’t that great, but we can still wait a bit and see if other people would be interested in taking the spare room.”

Charles looks at his best friend straight in the eye at the mention of his name, and it’s with an apologetic voice that he answers him, “I hate to be in a disagreement with you, Jakey, but I’ll have to be here anyway. She’s your soulmate, I could sense that the moment I laid eyes on you two guys. It would be a huge mistake letting her go. So I agree with Terry. We  _ have _ to take her with us!”

“Really?!” Jake exclaims, putting a hand into his hair in an upset move.

He’s never heard something that stupid in his life. His  _ soulmate _ . He doesn’t believe in them, but if he did… he’s sure his would look nothing like this Amy Santiago who wants to become their roommate.

“I say we take a vote,” Terry finally proposes, trying to calm things down a bit.

And, even though he knows he’s going to lose, because his friends clearly made up their mind to keep her already, the youngest of them all has no other choice than to agree. That’s how they end up, a few minutes later, back in the living-room where the woman is nervously smoking a cigarette while looking through the now opened window, waiting for them. She quickly tosses it away when she hears them come back to her, and turns in their direction, ready (or not really, actually) to face her fate.

Jake is the one stepping towards her, and offers him his arm once more, smiling despite his lost.

“Welcome aboard,” he simply tells her, and she doesn’t need more to understand she did it – found a place where to live. Her  _ own _ place. Still the man adds, though, “You’re officially part of the Nine-Nine.”

That’s how they call their apartment – it being the number 99 of the building.

The detective doesn’t even try to hide her contentment hearing that, as she starts a strange, short victory-dance in front of her new roommates, who stare back at her with confused looks in their orbs. She doesn’t care what they can think of her right now – because her fresh, new life can  _ finally  _ begin.

“Thank you guys,” she tells them with a huge grin, truly meaning it. “I swear you won’t regret having me around.”


	2. The First Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry, I'm the worst at updating things... but here's another OS set in that 'New Girl' universe.
> 
> Hope you'll like this one, and thanks so much for the kuddos and comments on the 1st chapter, it really means a lot! :3

It’s a Sunday morning.

A  _ freaking _ Sunday morning.

Jake came back from work at 3 in the night, as Saturdays are the most crowded nights at the bar, and the most exhausting as well. But he didn’t care, at the time, because today is a Sunday and he doesn’t have to work on Sundays.

No one in the apartment does – which means no disturbance in his sleep.

He’ll easily be able to stay in bed until 12 at the very least then, when Charles will most likely wake him up with some weird smell coming from the kitchen as he prepares another of his meals for the whole house.

_ The usual routine. _

So why the hell is it only half past 8 and there’s  _ already _ a burning odour coming to his nose as well as the deafening sound of the fire alarm startling him awake – no, startling the whole  _ building _ awake?

Aren’t people supposed to sleep on Sunday mornings?!

Alerted by the noise, and unable to ignore it despite his attempts at hiding his head under his pillows, the brunette finally gives up, and decides to go and see what’s going on in the kitchen with a grunt, still wrapped up in his covers, hair dishevelled by his sleep. He’s not that much surprised when he spots Amy there, seemingly in a fight with the oven, and what was supposed to be a cake laid down on the table.

The windows are wide open to let the smoke out, and a rush of cool breeze runs down his spine.

He doesn’t have time to complain about it all, nor to say anything of any sort, because quickly the woman sees him too.

She looks so relieved to have company, she doesn’t even take time to greet him correctly and simply asks him, desperate, “Please, tell me you know how to stop that awful sound…”

The bartender remains silent – it’s way too early in the morning to make conversations – as he goes to the alarm and presses a button there. Immediately after the apartment is back into silence.

“Oh my God, thank you. It was driving me crazy.”

Amy takes a short pause after that, hesitant, before eventually going on, “I wanted to bake you guys something, y’know, since it’s my first morning with you and all but… apparently I failed,” she shamefully confesses.

She points at the completely burnt piece of cake. “Yeah, I figured,” Jake mocks her as he follows her gaze.

She gives him a hard look in return – isn’t it the intention that counts here?!

She was trying to be nice. To make a good impression, from day 1.

Maybe she shouldn’t have gone with cooking, though – she  _ knows _ she’s not good at it.

“Why are you up so early when you came back so late yesterday?” the new roommate asks, curious, after a moment of both being quiet.

“Well, you’re not the only one that noise was driving crazy,” he points to the alarm in response. “Otherwise I’d still be in bed enjoying my Sunday morning  _ sleeping _ ,” he insists on the last word. “Which, if you don’t mind, I still intend to do. So… see you in a few hours, I guess. Try not to burn the apartment down in the meantime,” he jokes before turning, ready to head back to his own room.

He doesn’t have time to do so, though, because Charles suddenly appears in the kitchen too right at the same time, and offers his roommates a huge, suspicious grin when he spots them there together.

“Jakey! Amy! Great, you’re both here,” he greets them excitedly. “Sit down, I’ll make you breakfast.”

His best friend tries to argue – he  _ really _ wants (needs) to go back to sleep –, but he eventually has to give up. He knows there’s no escaping this. So he obliges, after he threw his blanket on the sofa not to be annoyed by it while eating. The windows are still fully opened, and he’s now simply in his boxers, but he doesn’t really care about the chill air entering the room – doesn’t even feel it on his skin.

Amy, on the other hand, watches him with wide, shocked eyes as she sits in front of him.

“Could you… at least go grab a shirt, please?” she asks, a blast of cold air taking over her whole body as she speaks.

It makes Charles’s smile only grow wider, watching the other two interact without intervening himself. And, if at first Jake looks startled by such a request, he finally answers with a laugh, “Why? You’ve never had breakfast with a man in his boxers? Or maybe you’ve never seen a man  _ like this _ ?” he proudly points at his chest with a smug, still mocking her. “Is that what makes you uncomfortable? I thought you’d seen  _ everything _ and wouldn’t mind living with us then.”

The woman rolls her eyes in return. “You’d be shocked by how many guys I’ve had breakfast with in their boxers,” she can’t help but reply to his banter, not really knowing why she so needs to explain herself – and realising as she says it that her burn doesn’t sound as good as it did in her head. She’s quickly back to being all serious again, though, as she adds, “You’re making me feel cold for you, that’s all.”

“Oh, I see,” Jake nods, still grinning, but doesn’t move one bit still.

Understanding that he won’t do anything about it by himself despite her kindly asking him to, Amy decides to take the matter in her own hands, and leaves the room with a sigh, only to come back a few seconds later with a hoodie that clearly is too big for her.

She hands it to the brunette with a pleading look on her face. “Please, put that on.”

“Wait,” he interjects as he takes the piece of clothes, studying it suspiciously and carrying it between two of his fingers as if it’s going to bite him. “Is that one of your ex’s stuff? Because I don’t want that on me if it is! And you really shouldn’t hold onto things that belong to him either,” he tries to give her an advice, sounding more concerned about her well-being this time and not being only joking.

“Says the man who still keeps the necklace he bought his ex for their one-year anniversary that she gave back to you when she broke up with you…” Charles can’t help but cut into the conversation.

“Hey, that’s totally different!” the other man exclaims, defensive as he glares at his best friend. “It was a very expensive gift,” he wants to make his point. “There’s no way I’m throwing that away. I’ll offer it to my next girlfriend, it’ll be a good way to recycle it and save some money.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Amy asks, horrified by his last sentence, joining in.

“Absolutely not,” Jake replies with a broad smile, apparently proud of his idea.

She doesn’t say anything back – simply watches him with a disgusted face. She can’t quite believe him. What kind of man would do such a thing?! She soon goes back to the main topic of their initial conversation, though, answering his question and worries. “Anyways, it’s not my ex’s, no. Of course I didn’t take any of his stuff with me when I left. This is one of my little brother’s hoodies – he once left it at my apartment and never thought about taking it back so I just kept it until he notices it’s gone. So now please, put it on. Or else you’ll catch a cold.”

Jake watches her for a short moment, all mockery gone from his face for a split second before he accepts with a laugh, “If the lady insists.” Then when it’s on, he looks at her again. “Happy?” he asks.

“Very,” she smiles back. “Thanks, Jake,” she genuinely tells him.

Right next to them, Charles can’t help but smile too.

_ Soulmates _ , he thinks as he keeps his stare glued on them while cooking, unable to look away.  _ They are such soulmates _ , he swears to himself.

* * *

Later that day, Amy knocks on Jake’s door to take back what’s hers.

When she enters the room, his curtains are closed, and she catches a glimpse of his seemingly comfortably sleeping figure, still wrapped in the hoodie she gave him that he didn’t seem to have taken off since.

She simply smiles at the sight then, and quietly closes the door behind. She’ll have plenty of time to take it back later, she thinks for herself as she goes back to her own room – the one directly facing his.

He’s only living a few feet away from her, after all. And it’s not like she needs it for herself.


	3. Bad Date (Good Friend)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this chapter almost ready for the past two weeks but I re-read/proofread it only now, I'm sorry... Another one was supposed to come before this one as well but it was starting to get too long, so it'll be finished and posted next hopefully.
> 
> Something about weddings and fake-dating... ;)
> 
> Anyways, hope you'll like this, and thanks again for the kudos/comments!!

“Woah, Santiago!”

When Amy gets out of her room, closely followed by her best (and only) friend Kylie, and she enters the living-room all dressed-up in a pink dress that cuts perfectly on her, she’s met by her roommates’ exclamations as they look up at her. She smiles at Terry’s words, and explains, “Big date tonight. How do I look?”

It’s the first time she’s seeing someone – a guy Kylie insisted on setting her up with – after she broke up with her ex. It’s been weeks since that day now, and it’s time for her to move on and forget about this loser for good, she decided, after what he did to her. She wants to make the most out of this night, then.

Plus, from the few texts they exchanged already during the past days, the man – Luke’s his name – seems pretty interesting and kind.

She’s really looking forward to learn more about him.

“Well, I think you look…” Jake, who’s sitting on the couch with a huge bowl full of popcorns laid by his side, ready for his own date with the  _ Die Hard _ movies for an umpteenth rewatch on his night off work, trails off as an answer to her question while taking out his phone from his pocket, and presses a button there. The sound of a donkey braying suddenly fills the apartment.

Amy frowns at this, and he seems confused. “Sorry – that was supposed to be a catcall,” he apologises.

The woman doesn’t reply with anything to his comment, and simply rolls her eyes. She’s come to get used to the bartender’s silliness already, and not pay it too much attention.

Other conversations start after that, and the little group of friends happily chat for a while, until it’s finally time for Amy to go.

“Well,” she tells her roommates, heading to the door, accompanied by Kylie who’s going back home too. “Have a nice evening guys.”

Before she can open it, Jake calls her, stopping her in her tracks. “Good luck with your date,” he playfully says, then quickly adds with a grin as he chews on his popcorn, “You look great.”

She rolls her eyes again at his new compliment coming out of nowhere, but she can’t help her cheeks from turning a small shade of pink as she leaves for good.

* * *

Only a couple of hours pass and Amy is already back at the apartment. The living-room is filled with darkness when she enters, with the sound of the TV the only audible noise. Jake is now all alone there, completely spread out on the couch and deeply concentrated on his movie, mouthing every line in sync with the characters talking on the screen.

She doesn’t pay him any attention when she puts the lights back on and he complains, sitting on the closest armchair and taking off her shoes with a rather irritated sigh.

Such a reaction coming from her intrigues her roommate, who’s quick to turn his head from the TV to look at her. He notices her frown in annoyance as she lets out another sigh. “I guess your date didn’t go too well if you’re back so soon?” he asks in sympathy. “What did you do to embarrass yourself this time?” he tries to tease her, but that doesn’t make her laugh.

On the contrary, she offers him a hard glare in return.

“Nothing,” she still answers him, though. “I literally didn’t have time to do  _ nothing _ . Because he didn’t show up,” she sounds defeated while she speaks.

“How’s that?”

“I don’t know. I waited one whole hour for him, and he never came. Didn’t call me back either.” She seems pretty (and rightly) upset about all of this, so Jake presses pause on the TV, to be able to put his whole attention on his friend and not be distracted by anything else, straightening up on the sofa as he does so.

“Hey, Ames,” he gently calls her after that, and she locks her eyes on him. “That guy was a jerk,” he acknowledges, then can’t help but joke, “I’m sure there’s someone out there, waiting just for you, who loves the all the same boring stuff you do and would be happy to be with you.”

That actually makes the detective laugh this time, heart warming up at his mocking (but still kind and supportive, in a sense) words. “Thanks, Jake,” she says, before nodding in direction of the screen. “What’re you watching?” she asks, wanting to change topics now.

“I’m doing a rewatch of the  _ Die Hard _ movies. I just started the second one.”

_ “Again?!” _ Amy exclaims, surprised. She’s lived in that apartment for a few weeks, and it’s already the third time she catches her roommate watching those movies. An appeal she can’t quite understand, to be honest – though it’s true she hasn’t actually seen any of them, they don’t seem so good, from the few glimpses she got of it.

“Of course I am, they’re the best movies  _ ever _ made,” Jake is quick to reply, on the defensive. “Have you seen them at least?!”

“No…” she confesses, which owes her a gasp from the man in front of her and an exaggerated exclamation, as if she’d say something horribly shocking.

“WHAT?! You need to repair this mistake immediately.” He pushes himself on one side of the couch to make more space, inviting his friend to come and sit next to him with a gesture of his hand.

He sounds and looks so serious – she’s never seen him like this before –, she can’t help but gently laugh at him for it. She does oblige to his request, though.

After all, she has nothing else to do now that Luke bailed on her. And she definitely could use some distraction to forget about her bad date.

That’s why she stands up from her armchair and takes a seat by his side, stealing a handful of popcorns that are now laid on his lap on her way.

Before he puts the first movie back on, the bartender offers, watching her with hesitation in his eyes, “We could watch something else tonight though, if you’d rather.”

Such a proposal startles Amy, who didn’t see that coming. “Really? You’d give away your night of watching  _ Die Hard _ for me?”

“Of course,” Jake shrugs, as if it were obvious. “Anything to cheer you up after the night you had. You’re my friend – I care about you,” he confesses, and in her chest the detective’s heart misses a beat. Despite their rough encounter, they eventually started to get along pretty well and quickly, joking together a lot.

She’s never seen that side of him before, though – the caring, genuine side. But she has to admit she likes it.

“That’s okay,  _ Die Hard _ sounds perfect,” she refuses with a soft smile after a moment of silence. Her friend keeps watching her for a little while trying to read her, just to be sure it’s what she wants indeed and she’s not saying that just to please him, then he starts the movie, and they both fall quiet as they put their attention on what’s going on on the TV.

Amy tries to concentrate on it – she really does –, but she quickly realises her hunch was right: those movies aren’t very much her style. That’s why – along with the fact that she had a long, tiring day at the precinct – she soon finds herself dozing off, with her head unconsciously falling onto Jake’s shoulder on her side.

When he feels her weigh on him, he doesn’t pushes her away, nor tries to wake her up.

On the contrary, he simply lowers the volume of the TV not to bother her too much.

After some time in that position, he ends up falling asleep too, with his own head finding its place on top of his roommate’s, a small smile lighting up his features.

(They’re woken up a few hours later by a high-pitched scream that startles them, when Charles discovers them all curled up on the couch on his way to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

They’re still dizzy from sleep, not really understanding where they are or what time it is, but when they notice how close they got without realising it before, they can’t help but quickly draw themselves away from one another, blushing a little as they do.

That’s without a word then, cursing against their shared friend in their minds for making all that noise and waking them up, that they go back to their own rooms to end their night there.

_ Separately. _ )


	4. The Jimmy Jabs Games (Apartment 99 Edition)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so as I appear to be the worst at updating this... I'll just post the OS as I write them and not try and follow the timeline just yet. I'll simply change the order once several of them are done. I don't think it'll prevent you from understanding things anyways.
> 
> This means this 'chapter' takes place several months after the very first one and Amy moving into the apartment with the guys. Sorry again for being so long, and I hope you'll like this mix between 1x22/2x03 of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and 2x15 of New Girl haha!

The Jimmy Jabs Games are a real tradition at the 99th apartment – some games invented by Jake, Charles, Terry and their former roommate.

The first time Amy was introduced to the games by her new friends, she had a hard time understanding all of the different, sometimes ridiculous (and rather confusing), rules. But now, after several attempts at playing it ever since she moved in with them, she has to admit she's getting better and better at it with every new try she makes.

She hasn't won once yet, though. But she's sure her time will come soon.

Maybe even  _tonight_ , since the four roommates decided to play it with their guests to keep the party going when coming home after a night out with her colleague Rosa, Jake's friend Gina, a girl he met at the bar earlier in the evening and brought back to their apartment as he wishes to hook up with her before the night ends and her own boyfriend Teddy.

Before they engage in the first round of the games, and in order to help her friend get closer to his date – Bernice, Amy thinks that's her name – the detective comes up with a new, particular edition including a brand new rule: the first two people to get eliminated will have to go behind the 'Iron Curtain' and kiss to get free of their prison.

It's a bit childish, Amy knows that, but she doesn't care, because it's the perfect idea to help Jake reach his goal.

Indeed, Bernice is new and is the only one in the group who never played the games before. So, of course, Bernice will lose. All her roommate will have to do then is to fake his own defeat as well. Which will not only allow him to be alone with the woman but also will be a good thing for  _herself_ , the bartender having the tendency of  _always_  winning.

So, if he's out from the start, Amy may have all her chances to actually succeed this time – or so she thinks.

Because no need to say that despite everyone agreeing to her rule, nothing goes according to the plan when  _she_  finds herself locked up with Jake, with their friends and even  _Teddy_  chanting them to  _kiss, kiss, kiss_  from the other side of the door while the two are facing each other, staring at one another with their eyes wide open in pure horror.

The woman doesn't know what she's the most disgusted about: the fact that she lost again (and on the first round, that is) or that because of her  _stupid_  rule, she's now stuck with the brunette in a room – having to  _kiss_  him if she wants to get out of here. With her boyfriend cheering them up to do so without a complaint.

(At least he's not the jealous type, apparently. Or maybe it's just all the Pilsners he's downed tonight which are talking for him.)

"I'm sorry it didn't work out and you're stuck here with me instead of Bernice," Amy apologises when Jake lets himself fall onto the floor with a sigh and she does the same, both of them trying not to pay too much attention to the people outside and the noise they make. He remains silent so she simply goes on with her explanation.

"I really thought it would work and she would lose," the detective acknowledges. "I mean, it took me at least three different editions to understand the games!"

"Yeah, well, you're pretty bad at this indeed," the man teases her; in return, Amy hits him in the side. " _Outch_ ," he reacts in exaggerated pain with a chuckle. "Not fair. Do I need to remind you we're stuck in here because of you? I have all the rights to mock you then."

She rolls her eyes, not bothering to reply with anything to his complaint.

There are a few seconds of silence afterwards, until it's suddenly broken by a voice coming from the other side of the door – Charles, they recognise him quite easily when he lets out an excited scream. "Are you guys frenching? Is that why you're not talking anymore?"

"Gross," Jake replies with a disgusted grimace, matching Amy's expression, though he can't prevent his cheeks from turning a slight shade of red and his heart from missing a beat at his friend's words. "No, we're not."

The others seem surprised by such a revelation. "Why?" they all ask at once.

"Because we're not gonna kiss. C'mon guys, let us out. This was a stupid idea. We all know better than to listen to Santiago when she's drunk, she has the worst ideas."

By his side, Amy almost hits him again for that, but he avoids her blow this time, a smug grin lighting up his face when he meets her eyes.

"It's the rules," Charles insists – he seems to take the matter really seriously. "You're not coming out until you kiss. And we want proof you did."

Both roommates share a look, wincing as they do. They don't have the possibility to argue, though, because soon Teddy joins the conversation. "Don't worry, Jake," he calls out the bartender, his half-drunk bottle of Pilsners in his hand and seeming pretty invested in this as well. "If you worry about me, I don't care if you guys kiss. It's just a game. And it's just  _you_."

_What is that supposed to mean?!_  the concerned man wants to ask, hurt by the words but remains quiet instead. When he turns to Amy, she offers him an apologetic glance before staring down at her feet.

It's probably her fault if her boyfriend told him that. After all, when he asked her what was going on between her and Jake after one of their first dates, when both men just met and her roommate acted weird all along (as if  _jealous_  of him), she's the one who told him he had nothing to worry about.

That he was a great friend of hers, but it would never turn into something else – they were too different; he was too much of a messy guy for things to work out. Plus, she didn't feel about him  _this way_  anyway – and she was positive her roommate wasn't either.

"I think we don't have a choice," the woman finally says to put an end to the heavy silence starting to fall upon them. "So… let's get over with it?" she offers.

Jake watches her for a few seconds before he agrees with her. "Okay."

He gets closer to her then, slowly entering her personal space while staring at her, in search of the slightest glint of hesitation in her brown eyes that would make him immediately draw away. She seems sure of her, though, so he starts gently cupping her face with both his hands, stroking her long, raven hair before he closes his own eyes when he slowly approaches her.

"Ready? One, two…" he counts, but quickly stops himself, falling quiet again. "I won't count, this is weird," he explains himself when he suddenly pulls away and opens back his eyes, facing Amy's confused look on him. She doesn't say anything in return, simply nods her agreement, waiting for him to finally make a move and _do it_.

Following that first fail, Jake tries again. And again. Kissing her shouldn't be that complicated, after all. He's done that ton of times with other women before – and according to most of them, he's pretty good at it, even. But, for some reason, just when their lips are supposed to meet, he backs off every time, finding a new excuse not to kiss Amy.

He simply can't.

"Not like this!" he shouts when she asks him what's going on with him, starting to get tired of all of this fuss he's doing for just one meaningless kiss.

Puzzled, she frowns. "Not like this?" she repeats. "What do you mean by that?" she asks.

"I– huh–…" It seems like the bartender is at a loss of words right now.  _Idiot_ , he thinks to himself. "I mean, I just… I don't  _like_  this. Like, I don't want to kiss  _you_." He pouts, as if the thought is disgusting to him, not really thinking about what he says and does, panicking. It's too late when he realises what his words sounded like, when he fixates his gaze back to his friend's and he can see the pain in hers.

_Good job, Jake. Good. Job._

"Amy, I–…" he wants to apologise and further explain himself but she doesn't let him go on, stopping him by waving her hand in front of him. She's heard enough for today already.

"Guys, open up please. We did it, you can open the door now," she lies, knocking on the door without watching him anymore.

"Did you take a picture?" Charles only answers, excitement still very audible in his voice. "We need a proof. Send it to me and we'll open up."

"Charles," Jake calls him then, and the man understands by his tone of voice he's not joking anymore and he better do as he's asked. "Just open up."

When their roommate finally opens for them, Amy doesn't wait any second to leave Jake's side and go straight up to Teddy, kissing him with more fierce she's ever done in public before, usually not being one for such shows of display in front of others, before she buries herself in his arms and starts chatting with him as if everything was going great, the brunette watching them from afar.

He remains there, alone, for quite some time after the others go back to the games, beautiful, perfect-match Bernice long forgotten.

* * *

Later in the night, when all of their guests have eventually left (except for Teddy, who's spending the night with Amy) and the two friends find each other alone in the corridor, ready to join each of their respective rooms after wishing each other goodnight despite Amy still being very disappointed in her roommate, Jake stops her before she has the chance to open her door.

He needs to apologise to her, explain what happened – and he has to do it now.

"Hey, listen, I, huh, I'm sorry about earlier," he begins his speech, unable to keep his eyes on her as he speaks, too nervous. "I really didn't mean what I said. Well, I did, but definitely not in the way you probably interpreted it. It's not that I didn't want to kiss you because you like… 'repulse' me or something. It's that… I don't want to kiss you just for a game."

"What are you saying?" the woman only asks, even more confused than she was before because of his reaction.

Facing her, her friend lets out a sigh before he goes on, to help him find the guts to let the confession out. "The truth is… I wish something could happen between us – y'know, _romantic-stylez_. I didn't want to tell you back then because I know you're with Teddy and things are obviously going well with him, and I didn't want to be a jerk. So that's why I acted like that, and didn't want to kiss you. I'm really sorry."

Amy looks at him, mouth half-open in shock following what she's just heard. She doesn't have the time to process the whole thing, though, because soon enough Jake is wishing her goodnight and disappearing behind his own door before she has the chance to say anything back, leaving her alone in the middle of the corridor.

When she joins Teddy in her bed a few minutes later, she's relieved to see he's already deep in his sleep and she doesn't have to talk to him. She wouldn't have been able to affront him right now.

Not when Jake's words won't seem to stop repeating themselves in her mind as she watches the ceiling, wide awake.

_I wish something could happen between us – y'know,_ romantic-stylez.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't think any of the 'chapters' will be very long. Depends on the story they have to tell. Also, if you have any scene you'd like to read... please don't hesitate to share, I'll see if I can do it and maybe it'll end up in this collection! ;)
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr @b99peraltiago if you want.


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